Omoide
by Edward the VIII
Summary: Memory is a fickle thing. Sasuke knew that he would never forget his memories of Naruko. When she returned after a decade away, however, she seemed to have forgotten him entirely; it turns out, a car crash had robbed her of their past together - and now, Sasuke is little more than a stranger to her. Now, he must claw his way back into her heart. Highschool AU, Sasuke/Female Naruto
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story that I'm starting, mostly because my other story 'A Wild Night' is drawing to a close sooner rather than later. This is, as evidenced by the summary, another Sasuke / Female Naruto fiction. It is an AU this time, however, set in a high school. This will be focused entirely on romance and things of that nature, so don't claim you weren't warned.**

 **Enjoy! And if you like it, don't forget to leave a review.**

* * *

It only lasted a single moment; to Sasuke, however, it seemed to last a millennium.

One glance from her stunning eyes made Sasuke realize one thing. Not only did she not remember him at all, she couldn't even be bothered to give him more than a passing look before returning to her conversation.

He had felt the near opposite. The minute, no, the exact _second_ their gazes had locked from afar… his heart had skipped a beat. He was entranced in a way that seemed almost ethereal. Sasuke surveyed everything about her that he big blue eyes, like sapphires glistening in the darkness of a cave. Her overwhelmingly bright, blonde hair, almost as radiant as the sun that shone in the sky.

No, there was no doubt in Uchiha Sasuke's mind as to who she was. He was startled. Actually, _shocked_ was a better way to describe it. In fact, he had dropped his guard to the point that the cigarette he had been smoking nearly fell from his mouth, almost leaving him with a burnt collar.

He blinked, his mouth agape, his gaze unable to be torn away from _her_ for even a millisecond. His momentary lapse of paying attention to, well, _anything_ was picked up on by his companions.

"Umm… Sasuke… you- you alright, man?" a voice said at his side. "You look kind of-"

"Look out you two," another voice said, soft and yet firm. "There's a teacher coming."

Sasuke shook himself from his stupor. He blinked three times in rapid succession. As fast as he could, he tore the cigarette from his mouth, throwing it to the ground and squashing it beneath his foot.

Just in time as well. Had he been a moment later, the teacher walking down the path would have undoubtedly seen him smoking. Mrs. Yuhi passed without comment, aside from offering the trio a small nod as they kept their heads down and their lips sealed.

Sasuke lifted his gaze, and with his two friend's attention off of him and more focused on looking inconspicuous, he was allowed to observe _her_ in peace.

 _She_ was currently engaged in conversation with an extraordinarily tall, white haired man swathed in red and tan colored clothing. They stood just inside the campus gates, both of their gazes fixated on the school campus, where more than a few students were visible, seated on the benches or lost in conversation with their friends. The grass on campus was lush and well kept, the stone paths orderly and swept, the windows on the buildings gleaming in the sunlight.

"Good looking out, Juugo." the boy to Sasuke's right said, as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "That was a close one."

"It's not as if you were doing anything particularly bad, Suigetsu-san." Juugo said. "However, if Sasuke had been caught smoking on school grounds again… well, I doubt that Principal Sarutobi's liking for him would have saved Sasuke from being suspended. I hear that he's been cracking down lately - especially after they caught that girl with the buns in a closet with that Hyuga boy."

Sasuke exhaled, his hot breath spreading out into a small, icy cloud. "Thanks for the warning," he murmured, as he lifted up his foot to make sure the cigarette was completely out. "But I'm not exactly worried about getting suspended."

"You have got to be kidding me on that one, Sasuke." Suigetsu said. "I've met your mom before, and she would probably disembowel you if she caught you smoke- wait a second, wait a second, we're getting off topic here. What was that all about a minute ago? You went kind of slack jawed for a minute, and you _never_ go slack jawed like that, Sasuke."

"I didn't go… _slack jawed_." Sasuke ground out. "But even if I did, it's none of your concern."

"Oh…" Suigetsu said, a knowing lilt to his voice as he glanced vaguely in the direction where Sasuke had been looking. "You were checking out that smokin' new blonde, weren't you?" He pointed a finger at _her_ and the white haired man, who were still at the campus gates. "You forget that I _know_ you, Sasuke. Ha! I knew you'd finally hit puberty sooner or later."

"Which blonde are you talking about, Suigetsu-san?" Juugo asked. "Yamanaka-san or that new girl, Uzumaki-san?" Sasuke stiffened upon the word 'Uzumaki' leaving his orange haired friend's lips, though neither of them seemed to take notice.

"I said smokin' _new_ blonde." Suigetsu said, his voice exasperated. "Jeez, do you even listen to me?"

"... about half of the time." Juugo said. "The other half, I'm thinking about what kind of accessories I'm going to get for my birds. I think the pet store has a new inventory that should have some useful things, though I haven't been in there for a while."

Suigetsu groaned. "Whatever." he said in a dismissive tone, as he waved his hand. "Anyways… _were_ you checking her out, Sasuke? I mean, I'm not judging you if you were - she is pretty hot - but it seems a little strange for you of all people to be trying to catch some strange. It's not exactly normal for you to even look twice at a girl, I mean… not that I'm trying to imply anything."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that last sentence, to which Suigetsu responded with a cheeky grin. He sighed, as he ran a hand through his black hair. "I wasn't… 'checking her out'." Sasuke said after a moment, scowling as Suigetsu snickered. "She's… interesting. That's all I have to say about her."

"Interesting?" Suigetsu said, laughing.

"Not many girls can bypass the school's dress code like her." Juugo said softly. "I doubt they've ever let a girl get past the front doors dressed like that."

"What'dya mean 'dressed like that'?" Suigetsu said, as he glanced at Juugo. "She's wearing the same pants we are, it's not like she walked in naked or anything like that. But anyways… that girl's _more_ than interesting." He nodded in her direction. "I heard from Karin that the school tried to force her to wear the girl's uniform, and she threatened to come to school everyday without any underwear on if they didn't let her wear the boy's uniform." He wiggled his eyebrows lecherously. "That would have been quite the sight, huh? And if was a windy day, too?" Suigetsu whistled suggestively, and Sasuke scowled at him once more.

"Shut up, you idiot." Sasuke growled.

Suigetsu blinked, his hands raised defensively. "Woah, woah, it's a joke, Sasuke." he said. "Calm down… if you want to call dibs on her, that's fine."

"I'm not calling… 'dibs' on her. What on earth does that even mean? Never mind, don't answer that, it's just..." He shook his head. "I … mmm... nevermind. Forget it."

"If you don't want to say what's on your mind, you don't have to." Juugo said. "Come on you two, our free period is almost over. It's probably best for us to get on a move on before the halls are filled up, otherwise we'll be late."

"Sure." Suigetsu said. "Not like we're doing anything anyways." He paused for a minute, as the three of them set off for their respective classes. "So, anyway, do you guys think that I could get Karin to spread her legs again? After that time underneath the bleachers, I can't help myself - I swear, that girl is too feisty for one man to-"

To be completely honest, Sasuke simply tuned Suigetsu out after that.

Sasuke nodded every now and then, and followed along behind them as his two friends continued to banter with each other - well, more like Suigetsu talking on and on while Juugo nodded and responded with simple yes or no answers.

He was far too distracted to pay attention to his friend's petty squabbles about women and school work. His mind was in another place - far, far away from the school grounds...

* * *

" _Are you okay, Sasu?"_

 _He clambered to his feet, brushing dirt and grass off the front of his shirt and shorts. His face was rather flushed, his appearance unkempt, his hair sweaty with beads of water dripping down his forehead._

 _Sasuke puffed out his chubby cheeks, pulling together the best haughty look a six year old could make. "I'm fine, Naruko!" he declared._

 _She grinned. "Are you sure you're alright?" Naruko asked, her eyes drifting down to his scraped knees._

" _Like I said, I'm fine." Sasuke said. "Don't you worry, I'm not mad at you for tripping me."_

 _Naruko laughed, high and clear. "Okay… I mean… I didn't mean to trip you like that, Sasu. I thought… I dunno, I thought that you might be mad and that you wouldn't want to be friends anymore, 'ttebayo…"_

 _Sasuke smiled. "Don't worry about that, Naruko." he said, looking into those always familiar blue eyes._

 _She smiled right back at him, and suddenly, the stinging pain in his knees disappeared._

* * *

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes set in a glare at the ground beneath him as if it had called his mother a harlot.

"Why doesn't she remember me…?" he murmured to himself, Sasuke forced to have to resist the temptation to glance back and try to catch a sight of her.

"Something wrong, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked, his head turned.

Sasuke scowled. "No," he said, a bite to his voice. "Nothing's wrong… nothing at all."

* * *

Dinner at the Uchiha house was as routine as it ever was.

He picked at his food. He jammed his fork into the pork loin his mother had cooked and lifted it up for a moment. Sasuke examined the cooked meat for the slightest instant, before he gave the side of the fork a tap and allowed it to fall back onto the plate.

Sasuke felt his mother's eyes on him. It was as if he was a kid again, refusing to eat the cake that his mother had made for him to eat on his birthday.

"Is something wrong with the food I cooked, Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, and though her voice was quiet, it flowed easily across the dining table.

He glanced at her, frowning. "No, the food's fine, Mom. I'm just… a little distracted, that's all." Sasuke said.

Mikoto wiped her lips with a folded napkin. "Did something happen at school?"

Now, he felt both his brother and his mother's eyes on him, though his father, Fugaku, still ate as if the dinner table was silent as it had been a minute ago. Itachi's attention was rapt, and the slightest hint that Sasuke's day hadn't been perfect had lead Itachi to put his fork and knife down, and listen in an attentive manner to what Sasuke had to say.

Sasuke chewed the inside of his cheek. "I saw Naruko today... Uzumaki Naruko." he murmured, after a moment of careful deliberation.

He had expected a lot of things - and yet, Sasuke hadn't expected his mother to squeal as if she had seen a particularly cute puppy wag its tail.

"Oh, do you mean that little cutie that lived down the street?" Mikoto said, a fond look in her dark eyes. She turned to her husband. "Naruko and Sasuke… they were as thick as thieves. I remember those two doing everything together - sure, I had to wash all of those stains off of her shorts after you got done playing in the mud, but I've never seen you happier. Do you remember her, Fugaku?"

Fugaku frowned. "... who?" he said, after a moment.

Mikoto glared at him. Itachi cleared his throat, frowning as he glanced between his parents. "Father, Naruko was that blonde girl that Sasuke was friends with for two years or so, back when he was a kid." Itachi said.

"Oh." Fugaku said, blinking. "That irritating little girl who called me a…" He frowned.

"A grumpy pants?" Mikoto teased.

Fugaku's lip curled. "Those were the words she used, yes." he said. "If I recall, she and her parents moved out of town, and that was the end of that. You haven't heard from them her, have you, Sasuke?"

"No, I had not. Apparently, though, they've moved back into town." Sasuke said. "I saw her at school today."

"Isn't that a good thing?" MIkoto said after a moment, her voice brimmed with tinges of worry.. "Did you- did you not go and say hi to her, Sasuke? Or… oh no - she's got to be all grown up now. I bet she grew up to be a _real_ cutie, and you were afraid to go up to her."

"No." Sasuke said quickly. "She didn't recognize me at all." He glared down at his plate.

"Well, it has been ten years or so, Sasuke." Mikoto said. "It's only understandable that she might not remember you… it still might be worth it to-"

"If she doesn't remember me, she doesn't remember me." Sasuke growled, his fingers wrapped around his fork tight enough that the metal rattled against his plate. "I'm not going to waste my time trying to make friends with some stupid blonde."

"Sasuke…" Itachi admonished.

"You two were closer than I've seen you be with anyone outside of the family." Mikoto said . "I don't know… it might be worth it-"

"Just drop it, Mom." Sasuke snarled.

"Don't talk to your mother like that." Fugaku said sternly. "And stop interrupting her - she's only trying to help you, Sasuke."

"I don't want help." Sasuke said, his voice low. "So just _drop it_."

Mikoto opened her mouth to say something, but Fugaku placed a hand on her shoulder in order to stop her. She glanced at him, and Fugaku shook his head in return. Mikoto sighed.

"Fine." she said.

Itachi's eyes remained fixated on Sasuke a moment longer. Sasuke met his brother's gaze, and refused to yield until his brother looked away.

He exhaled slightly, feeling a slight pressure lift off of his gut once his family's attention was finally averted from him. _'That stupid blonde.'_ he thought bitterly, as he impaled a piece of pork loin and shoved it into his mouth. _'She has to come back here now of all the times to come back… and she can't even do the courtesy of remembering me of all people.'_

It would have been better if she had never returned. He knew that the Naruko of the past or of the present wouldn't like the Sasuke of today. Back then, he had been free, unhampered by any stress or worries. That was before he had realized that he would _always_ be number two, no matter what he did. That was before he realized that he would always remain the 'mistake' of the Uchiha family. That was before he had become so angry, so distant, so unwilling to adhere to the views that his mother and brother had tried to push onto him… that was before she had left, and before a part of him had gone with her.

His hands still shook as Sasuke ate the rest of dinner,. He treated every bite as if that blonde's ugly (beautiful) face hovered right in front of him, as if physically taunted him not to eat the food his mother had slaved over an oven to cook for him and his family.

Despite the fact that he had started eating last, Sasuke was the first to finish. "I'm going to bed." he declared.. He stood, and shoved his plate and silverware into the sink. Sasuke strode out of the room with his head held high, well aware that his mother's gaze was once again trained on him.

He stopped outside of the dining room, pressing a hand against the wall. His face was red and flushed, his breathing was harsh - he felt like someone had taken a hockey stick and jammed it into his stomach. It had been a while since he had been so… _angry_ , so irrationally angry. The worst part was that Sasuke knew that he had no proper reason to be angry.

Sasuke took a deep breath.

* * *

" _You're moving?"_ _he said, and his voice sounded alike to a scandalized kitten. "Why?"_

 _Naruko wilted. "I'm sorry, Sasu…" she murmured. She hung her head, and her pigtails swung from side to side. "Grandma is getting sicker and sicker, and Mom wants us to be able to spend as much time around her before she… uh… well, Dad told me before she 'goes to a better place'."_

 _Sasuke frowned. "But…. I thought-" He drifted off._

 _Naruko grasped one of his hands in hers, a sweet and yet sad smile present on her face. "Don't worry, Sasu." she said, and he was overcome by the warmth that flowed through his body as he gazed at her. "We'll always be friends, dattebayo! No matter how far apart we are!"_

* * *

"... always…" Sasuke murmured.

He exhaled. He cast one last look back at the dining room, where he could hear Mikoto, Itachi, and Fugaku as they talke. He sighed, before he made his way up the stairs and to his room.

* * *

Sasuke was not innovative when it came to being a social person. He was not a smooth talker like Suigetsu - and neither was he the kind of person who could merely blend into the background like Juugo. He was his own brand - both social and antisocial, always in the spotlight though always yearning to be out of it.

Needless to say, that kind of tendency to attract unwanted scrutiny had thrusted Sasuke into some uncomfortable situations. Sitting in the middle of his class, surrounded on one side by a girl staring at him with hearts in her eyes, and on the other side by a boy not-so-subtly glaring at him, Sasuke could say for the first time that he missed being in a class with Suigetsu and Juugo. Not that he would ever say that to their faces… or out loud at all, actually.

It wasn't long before Sasuke came to realize that he was in the same homeroom class as Naruko.

She looked tomboyish, clad in the boy's school uniform, and yet no one in their right mind would stupid enough to claim that she didn't look like a girl - an extraordinarily beautiful one at that. Her blonde hair was twisted into a ponytail. Her radiant blue eyes stared into the class's very soul. It was apparent that Naruko made more than a significant impact straight from the start He could see the boy who glared at him earlier giving her a transfixed stare, and Sasuke made a point of shooting a scowl his general direction.

Sasuke's first block teacher, Iruka, called on Naruko to introduce herself to the class; and like everything Naruko did, well… she could speak for herself.

"Hi, everyone!" she said, her voice bright and chirpy like a bird in the morning. "My name's Uzumaki Naruko, and I just moved here! It's nice to meet you all!"

The class was caught off guard. While there were bright and peppy blondes in the school before Naruko's arrival, no one to date had managed to capture her eccentric blend of energy and passion - she, like Sasuke, was her own brand of person… and that hadn't changed even after a decade, Sasuke thought.

She was assigned to a seat that was near exactly the opposite of where Sasuke sat, and he was fine with that. He stared at the teacher, as he gripped the desk so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He resisted that alluring temptation to glance in her direction.

And the status quo remained that way… at least, until the classes got up in order to go to their secondary classes, which for Sasuke was Home Economics - which, along with Physical Education, was the only subject where he went outside of his home room.

He sat in his customary seat there, an ever present scowl on his face. He wasn't all too happy about having to take a subject like _Home Economics_ of all things, but he knew it was likely to be necessary if he was to learn how to cook something more complicated than a bowl of cereal. He could shelve his pride for a moment if it meant he wouldn't have to rely on American fast food or take out for sustenance whenever he moved out of the house.

Now, something important to note is that the seat next to him was empty.

What Sasuke didn't realize was that Naruko, coincidentally, _also_ took Home Economics. And, again coincidentally, it seemed that the only open chair in the room was right next to him.

So when she bound over to his desk, bent over the desk and jammed her head in front of his, and said- "Hey! Do you mind if I sit next to ya?" Sasuke nearly fell out of his chair in surprise.

His mouth, his inhumanely cruel mouth decided to betray him. "No," Sasuke found himself saying, even as his brain screamed for his lips to stop moving. "I don't mind."

"Awesome!" Naruko exclaimed, and she slid into the seat beside him.

He felt like dying, right there and then, he really did. She still didn't recognize him! Even after she had looked straight at him, capturing every one of his pores with those captivating eyes of hers, she still didn't remember him, not even in the slightest. It infuriated him in a way that made him see red. He almost wanted to hit her, but he knew that his mother would quite literally kill him if he was found assaulting a girl on school grounds… or in general, actually.

Sasuke frowned, and again his body betrayed him, because he was unable to stop himself from glancing in her direction once again. There was something about her that seemed to steal the attention from everything in the room - she'd had that effect at seven years old, and she still had that same power over him after a decade separated.

Not to mention puberty had hit her like a train. Even draped in the boy's uniform, her curves looked so delicious - and that cute way she would bite her lip and tuck her hair into her ear made him want to jump her there and then.

' _I'm not going to make it the rest of the year.'_ Sasuke realized. _'Not if it keeps up like this.'_

He couldn't avert his eyes, though thankfully he was subtle enough to not attract any attention from her. Which was a good thing, because if he hadn't been looking at that particular moment, he would never had found out the truth.

Naruko reached up, and scratched her head. It was such a casual movement, at least it would have been if her sleeve hadn't rolled up slightly. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What's that?" he blurted, pointing at the back of her arm.

Naruko blinked in obvious confusion. "Huh?"

"That… that _scar_ on your arm." Sasuke said.

"Oh, this?" Naruko said. With a sort of nonchalance that an Uchiha would be proud of, Naruko rolled up her sleeve - and Sasuke's eyes only continued to widen, as the scar that ran up her arm kept going, and going, all the way to her elbow. It was ugly and jagged, yet clearly very old, definitely from when she was a kid. "I got this from a car accident." Naruko said.

"A… car accident?" Sasuke breathed.

Naruko nodded. "Yeah. Some idiot ran a red light and ended up ramming right into the side of the car." she said. "My parents died… the driver of the other car died… and I was in a coma for weeks. It was not a pleasant time, I'm sure, at least I would be sure if I could remember it…" The last part came out as a murmur that Sasuke barely caught.

His heart leapt into his throat. "Your parents… they're- they're dead?" Sasuke said, his mouth agape.

"Yup." Naruko said. She nodded once more.

He blinked. "You don't seem broken up about it…" Sasuke murmured. He looked at her intently.

"Well, I guess it's sad and all." Naruko said. "But I don't really remember them; actually, I don't much from before the car accident, or after it for that matter. The doctors… they said my head got knocked around good in the crash. They said that I'll probably have memory problems for the rest of my life - it's gotten better, but I still don't remember anything from before the crash, not even a lick."

His hands twitched. "I… see." Sasuke said.

"Aww, don't feel sorry for me." Naruto said. She brushed something off of her shirt as if she had brushed off his concerns. "I've learned to deal with it. I mean, I've still got pictures of my parents and stuff, so it's not like I forgot them." She tapped a finger on her chin. "Say… I don't think I caught your name; what was it, anyway?"

Sasuke swallowed. "Uchiha Sasuke." he said, thankful that his voice remained firm.

She extended a hand out to him, her face still curled up in that same smile that had stolen his heart from the age of six. "It's nice to meet you, Sasuke." she said.A decade before, when she had moved to town in the first place and they had first met each other at the playground, she had said those exact same words.

His eyes drifted down, to the scar hardly visible now that she had tugged her sleeve back down.

Sasuke swallowed.

He accepted her hand. "... you too." Sasuke said after a moment, his brain still persistent as it screamed at him. He willed down the flush that had creeped up his neck.

Her smile merely grew, and after she had relinquished the handshake, she turned forward in her chair and looked at the front of the classroom.

Sasuke, however, looked at the front of the classroom with a blank gaze.

A dark voice in the shadows of his mind chuckled. _'So that's why she doesn't remember me.'_ it said. _'Well… that's a pretty good excuse if I've ever heard one.'_

Sasuke agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

 **If you liked it, don't forget to leave a review. Reviews are like food to hungry authors like me, and though they might sate my appetite for acknowledge, they definitely help me get the inspiration to write more, ;). I'll still write whether I get a hundred reviews or one, but the principle of it is what matters, imo. Guest or not, I'll appreciate it. And I'll try to reply to each and every review left.**

 **I'm starting to ramble, so I'll cut this A/N off here. Thanks for reading, and as always have an awesome day.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Three reviews for the first chapter? _-tears up-_ Nah, I'm just playing with you. I'm sure you guys just couldn't spare the time to leave a review... it's not like you just didn't bother to leave one, right? Ha ha. Ha.**

 **Ha.**

 **...**

 **Seriously, leave a review. I needz'em.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

" _Sasu, do you ever feel… alone?"_

" _Sometimes. Why do you ask?"_

 _They were seated in the shadow of a jungle gym. A web of metal bars above them scythed the light in half, and left shadows that crisscrossed their small frames._

" _Mom's always working. Dad's always working." Naruko murmured, as she picked at the grass between her legs. She sighed, and shook her hair out of her eyes. "I dunno, Sasu… I always feel like they ignore me, even if I know that it's not on purpose."_

 _Sasuke frowned. "At least your dad cares about you." he said. "And besides… we have each other, right?"_

 _She grinned. "Sasu, there's a difference between my best friend and my Mom and Dad, 'ttebayo!" Naruko said._

" _So what?" Sasuke said. "It doesn't mean anything to me; I enjoy spending time around you more than I do my parents."_

 _Her grin fell for a moment. Sasuke's gut clenched for an instant, until a smile curled her lips. It was a guilty smile, but still an expression of happiness nonetheless._

" _You know what? I think I feel that way too, Sasu."_

* * *

Sasuke was not the type to fiddle with his thumbs. He was obstiant about protecting his reputation, and things like _fiddling_ or anything of that nature were below an Uchiha… or so he had been taught. As much as he abhorred his father's constant lessons-mostly directed at Itachi with Sasuke listening in-some of them had stuck with Sasuke even all the way through high school.

In that moment, he couldn't stop himself. His mind was racing. His heart beat thumped in his ears. The teacher's instruction bleeded out to a faint echo that did not register for even a second in Sasuke's brain.

For an instant, the fog that shrouded his thoughts lifted. With a crystal clear clarity that had avoided him for the past five minutes or so, Sasuke realized the truth-the irrefutable, irrevocable truth.

' _It wasn't that she didn't remember me. It wasn't that she was ignoring me. She… she cannot remember me. She just can't.'_

He swallowed, and it felt as if a hot ball of lead went down his throat.

All of those memories... gone, gone like the wind and with only the slimmest chance to return. Some thin portion of his mind had hoped that just being around him would jolt her memories. Now that he knew a _car_ accident of all things had stolen those recollections from her… that hope was completely and utterly crushed. _'Like everything good in my life.'_ Sasuke thought.

He saw red yet again, but this time, his anger wasn't directed at Naruko. If the man who had rammed into the side of her parent's car wasn't already dead, Sasuke would have half a mind to find him and kill him. Maybe he could track down his grave; if anyone deserved to have their burial place desecrated, it was that piece of work.

Sasuke glanced at Naruko, before he looked back at the teacher. He wasn't sure whether he thought she was lucky to have been freed from the burden of her parents, or unlucky. Sasuke was sure that if he had been thrust into the same situation, he would have felt liberated. Naruko, though… Sasuke knew that her parents were actually well meaning, not borderline-narcissistic like his father and a bystander like his mother.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his chest stirring with something akin to guilt. Normally, he wouldn't have cared for an instant about someone else's losses in life; then again, Naruko had been the exception to nearly every rule in his life-it was unlikely that trend would stop now, for no discernable reason.

Fortune seemed to favor him for once, as Home Economics went by fast that day. That was a rarity that would usually improve Sasuke's customarily dark mood; however, it didn't do anything like that today, as one might expect.

Naruko was the first one out of class when the bell rung. Home Economics wasn't his last class of the day, so it was back to the homeroom for Sasuke. There, at least, he could ignore Naruko; it was sheer torture to have her presence flaunted with every sound she made, every breath she took, every cute thing she did as it was in Home Economics.

The rest of the day passed by without event. An outrageous amount of homework was given to them, which most of the student balked at; Sasuke merely slipped it into his rucksack without comment. It wasn't as if he was worried, after all, there was a reason he got back from free period every day to see an 'A+' scribbled at the top of a classwork sheet.

"Hey, Sasuke." Suigetsu said. He had been standing at a corner just down the hall from Sasuke's class; Sasuke offered him a nod in response. Neither of them questioned the absence of Juugo. It was a Tuesday after all, and Sasuke knew that his orange haired friend would be spending his time after school with the Chess club. "So is there any reason for me to talk? Or are you just going to ignore me like you did yesterday?"

"I ignore you most days." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu bared his teeth. "What is it with you and Juugo? Can't I have a friend who actually _listens_ to what I say?"

Sasuke smirked. "Keep dreaming of that, it's never going to happen. You still have a ways to go before you stop being a pest, Suigetsu." he said.

Suigetsu huffed. "Hmph! Whatever. Did you see pinky today?"

"Sakura?"

"That's right, it's Sakura. I swear, I had her name on the tip of my tongue." Suigetsu said.

"What about her?" Sasuke asked.

Suigetsu smirked. "She got dumped by that mutt, Kiba." he said. "It surprised me too. I thought that idiot would realize there's no chance that he's going to get a girl better than pinky."

"Hmm." Sasuke was ambivalent to Sakura's plight. The two of them had gone to middle school together, but they had never talked; she'd had a crush on him last time he remembered, but that had been years ago.

"'Hmm', what?" Suigetsu said.

Sasuke looked at him. "Am I supposed to care about who dumped who? I'm not exactly interested in ridiculous high school romances." he said.

"Jeez! Have a heart for once. The poor girl was in the girl's bathroom crying for most of the day." Suigetsu said.

Sasuke scoffed. "She didn't like Inuzuka that much, idiot. Anyone could see that. She's probably just embarrassed that he dumped her before she could dump him."

Suigetsu frowned. "I mean… maybe. It's not like either of us know her that well."

"I can get a good grasp of a person even if I don't know them." Sasuke said.

His silver haired friend looked at him. "Really. What was your initial impression of _me_ , then?"

Sasuke couldn't help the smirk that curled his lips. "That you were an idiot."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "I'm half tempted to leave you to walk home on your own." he said.

"Go ahead. I'm not about to shed any tears." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu chuckled. "I think the sky would fall before you ever cried, Sasuke. You actually need a _heart_ to cry."

Sasuke felt strangely defensive. "What? Because I don't care about Sakura getting her heart 'broken' I don't have one?" he said.

He raised an eyebrow. "You seem a little worked up over something I've said to you a thousand times." Suigetsu noted.

Sasuke cursed inwardly. If there was one downside to being Suigetsu's friend, it was that he could be extraordinarily observant when he wanted to be. "I'm not worked up over anything." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu nodded. "Sure," he said. "Whatever you say, Sasuke."

Sasuke scowled for what felt like the tenth time that day. "Let's get going." he said.

"Sure." Suigetsu said.

* * *

Routine was not something that existed when you went to a school with Uzumaki Naruko. She was eccentric, she was rabid at worst and energetic at best. To try and contain her, or keep her set to a specific tempo throughout the day was a foolhardy attempt.

She had spent their free period on her first day… somewhere. Sasuke wasn't sure where, because he had been at his usual spot with Suigetsu and Juugo behind the school. The second day, he still was not sure. The third day, however, things... changed, rather radically. Suigetsu was out sick and Juugo was finishing up a test in his home room; and as a result, Sasuke was left to his own devices for that particular free period. Much to his eventual elation.

He loitered for a few moments in the halls as he pondered on what he could do. Sasuke was tempted to out to the usual spot behind the school, but decided against it-without Suigetsu and Juugo there to back him up, he was aware that one of those girls with a pesky crush on him might summon the courage to approach him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with a crying woman once he had broken her heart with a stern "No." and so Sasuke decided on something else.

Namely, the library. A brightly lit, spacious place centered in a building near the corner of campus. Rows upon rows of books, as far as the eye could see, that stretched all the way around the room. Tables filled the spaces between them; chairs were pushed beneath them and helpful papers to aid a man in locating a specific genre of book rested on top of the polished wood.

Not many of his fellow students tended to spend their free periods in the library. Who would want to spend their one reprieve from the grind of the school day studying? Sasuke wasn't sure. Then again, he had chosen to spend his time in the library, so perhaps it wasn't the best idea to criticize others for doing the same thing.

He was met with the same problem that he had outside of the library. What could he do? There were too many books for Sasuke to even get started on finding one to read. There were computers, but they were protected with programs that would restrict him from anything mildly interesting. He didn't recognize anyone in the library at first either, and he wasn't going to walk up to anyone and make friends.

Sasuke ended up walking through the hallway, from aisle to aisle, his gaze sweeping past vast sections of books and dismissing all of them. Being stuck in here with nothing to do was almost as bad as doing it outside of the library.

At least here, Sasuke thought, he could get away from the hall monitors that would glance at him suspiciously-who had been under the impression that he might have skipped class rather than simply on his free period. That alone made the library only a tad better than wandering the halls.

Sasuke selected a novel at random, and spent a moment leafing through the pages; he tried to read a paragraph-he really did-but it was tedious and boring, and it only took a moment for Sasuke to set the book back down on the shelf.

Something caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. "Is this the book you were talking about, Sakura-chan?"

"No," a quiet voice said. "This is close, Naruko-but I need Volume Four, not Volume Three."

"Gah! I really thought I had it this time."

He began to breathe a little quicker. His chest heaved up and down. His hands felt clammy, and he wiped them off on his trousers-only to wipe them off again only a moment later.

Sasuke poked his head out from around the corner of an aisle. _She_ stood only a few meters away from him, and behind her frame, he caught a glimpse of distinctive pink hair.

He was struck dumb, as he seemed to be every time he saw her. Sasuke took in her appearance. She was still clad in the baggy boy's school uniform-but Sasuke considered it a crime in his mind to even fathom the idea of Naruko not looking attractive. She could be wearing a sweater, a tutu, or even a trench coat and Sasuke would still find her beauty second to none.

Perhaps he was still a moment too long. It was only a matter of time before Sakura looked past Naruko to see him. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, and Naruko whirled around to face him.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruko said, as if she were greeting an old friend. The irony was not lost on Sasuke-the throb in his heart made sure of that. "Wait… 'Sasuke-kun'? Are you two friends, Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but Sakura's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"We are." Sakura said. "We've known each other since middle school-haven't we, Sasuke-kun?"

He was infinitely glad that he could think on his feet; it wouldn't be prudent to be caught gaping at a response like that, especially in front of _her_.

"Yeah." Sasuke said. "It's been awhile since we've talked, though." He shifted a little awkwardly. "I… erm… heard that Kiba broke up with you. My condolences."

She smiled at him. "Oh, it's fine. I mean, I-I really liked him, but… I guess he didn't like me back. There's nothing else to it. Now that I think about it, do you two know each other?" Sakura asked. She glanced between Naruko and Sasuke.

"We sit next to each other in Home Economics." Naruko supplied.

"Oh, I see." Sakura said.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck. "What were you two looking for?" he asked, after the silence stretched for a second too long.

"We're studying for that project in History, the one where you have to pick a Chinese dynasty and do a report about it. The book we're looking for is 'Chinese Dynasties Throughout the Ages', only it's sorted into six volumes. This library is so ridiculously unorganized though! We've been here since free period started and we haven't gotten any progress… and that idiotic librarian is no help. We did manage to find Volume One on one side of this place, and Volume Two on the other, but nothing further then that." Sakura said. "Say, you're in the class too-which dynasty are you doing, Sasuke-kun?"

"The Qing dynasty." Sasuke said.

Sakura cursed. "That would probably be in volume six," she said. "I was hoping you could help us…" That last bit was an after murmur that she likely didn't intend for Sasuke to hear.

Naruko blinked. "Wait… he's in our homeroom?" she asked.

Sakura nodded. "Sasuke-kun _is_ very quiet in class, so I'm not surprised you didn't know he was in there."

Sasuke couldn't help but frown. "Which Volume were you looking for? Number four? I can help you look for it."

"That would be very helpful, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said.

"Awesome! The more the merrier." Naruko said. "We've already searched this row and the one before it. So I guess you could get the one after it, and then I'll get the one after _that_. Sakura-chan can help you."

He tried not to let his distaste for that particular arrangement of labor show. "Fine, whatever." Sasuke said. "Come on," he told Sakura. "Free period is already half over."

"Of course, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said.

They went to the next row. Naruko walked past them, and it was only a minute before they heard her sifting through the books just a meter or two away.

Sasuke began to look through the books. Admittedly, it wasn't that Sakura was overly irritating or anything-she had become much more tolerable after that crush she had on him faded away-but when he had signed up to help them look for this book, he had envisioned being able to bask in Naruko's presence as he did so.

"Is everything alright, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. "You seem a little… stiff."

"I'm fine." Sasuke murmured. He took a deep breath.

Sasuke was more than well aware of the fact that Sakura would likely try to chat his ear off while they looked for this book. He was anything but social-as previously mentioned-but he would rather start a conversation off on his own terms rather then have to answer her questions.

"So… how did you and N-Naruko meet?" he asked. Sasuke cursed himself for the way his voice shook on _her_ name, and prayed that Sakura didn't notice.

She looked a little surprised by his inquiry. "Well, it was after Kiba… dumped me. I spent most of yesterday just sobbing away in the restroom; I ended up tucking myself away in one of the stalls, and the tears just started… _pouring_. Not that anyone cared-at least for the first hour or so. Naruko came in… she heard me crying, and practically kicked down the stall to get to me. She consoled me… she let me ruin her shirt crying into it… and we started talking. It turned out we sat near each other in homeroom, so we talked there. She's just the kind of person that you can befriend easily, you know?"

"... yeah…" Sasuke whispered. Sakura didn't seem to notice that either.

He cleared his throat after a few minutes of silence.

"Here it is." Sasuke said. He pulled the rather hefty book off of the shelf. Sasuke gave the cover a glance, and there it was, 'Chinese Dynasties Throughout the Ages, Volume Four', complete with an elaborate Chinese dragon on the front cover.

"Excellent." Sakura said. She took the book from his hand. "We found it, Naruko!" she called to the blonde, who could still be heard sorting through the book.

"Yippee!" Naruko cheered. She bounded around the corner a moment later, and Sasuke's jaw slackened as she came to a stop before he and Sakura. "Just in time, too. We'll meet up at your house to study later, right?" Naruko asked Sakura.

Sakura nodded. "Of course." She turned to him. "Thank you for the help, Sasuke-kun."

"We're going to be studying during our free periods too, Sasuke!" Naruko chirped up. "I didn't know that you were in the same homeroom-but I mean, if you're doing the same project as us, you might as well study with us too, right?"

Sasuke declined to mention that he had already finished said project.

"I'll think about it." he said. Sasuke jammed his hands inside of his pockets. "I'll see you two later." Then, he walked out-Sasuke desperately trying to keep his cool.

Whenever those blue eyes were focused on him, it felt like she was staring right through him. As if she _knew_ about his affections and had simply declined to say anything out loud.

He heard their goodbyes as he walked away from them; Sasuke only breathed a sigh of relief when he was safely out of the library.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. Secretly, he abhorred the thought running through his mind-that his free periods were about to get a _lot_ more interesting with an opportunity like that.

* * *

"We're not going to spend our free period in the library, Sasuke." Suigetsu deadpanned. His voice was hardly audible over the sound of sneakers squeaking on the gym floor, and the sound of bouncing balls.

Sasuke looked at Juugo. "What about you?" he asked.

Juugo chewed the inside of his cheek. "I enjoy the fresh air… the sound of the birds chirping in the trees, and especially being able to get out and stretch my legs. I don't fancy the idea of being stuck in that cramped library for the purposes of a project that Suigetsu and I aren't even doing."

Sasuke had of course neglected to mention that they would be studying with Naruko and Sakura. The way he had phrased it to his two friends, it had seemed as if it would be the three of them. Then again, it wasn't as if Sasuke had planned on them accepting his offer in the first place.

"Fine." Sasuke said, and he shrugged.

Juugo and Suigetsu exchanged a glance. "If you want us to come in from time to time and visit you…" Juugo began.

"Like I said, it's fine." Sasuke said. "I might come out for a smoke every now and then. The project is due in a month, so after that I'll go out with you two again."

Suigetsu shrugged. "We've still got P.E. too. It sucks we can't hang out after school anymore… your dad is a real pain when it comes to that kind of stuff, huh?"

He frowned. "The man has his moments." Sasuke said neutrally-as much as he loathed his father, he was an Uchiha. An Uchiha would never badmouth family in front of anyone, unless you could ensure their silence. Sure, he and Suigetsu were friends… but Sasuke knew that an idiot like him couldn't be trusted to keep quiet about his personal affairs.

Sasuke eyed Sakura from across the gym floor, the pink haired girl in the middle of a conversation with her blonde best friend, Yamanaka Ino. It seemed strange to him that Naruko wasn't in their Physical Education class-but he could live, he supposed.

Before, he'd only had those brief moments during Home Economic class when the teacher wasn't busy speaking. He and Naruko only had brief conversations there, and it was nowhere near enough to entice her into a friendship… which would be the first step to something more in Sasuke's mind.

Now, with his entire free period devoted to studying with her-and to a lesser extent Sakura- maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would be able to inch his way into her heart.

Maybe, she could finally recover the love for him that fate and a reckless driver had so cruelly taken.

At least, Sasuke hoped that would be the case. Hope was all he had at this point.

* * *

 **Where's the Sasuke/Female Naru, I might hear you asking. Just wait... it's coming, and it'll be all the sweeter once you get past the build up, trust me. Don't forget to leave a review-and as always, have an awesome day.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a _while_ since I updated this... a little over two months in fact; which is the longest I've gone without updating one of my stories on here, I believe. Still, I eventually got back around to it. This chapter covers a few important things that I think should be fleshed out, and I don't think you guys will be disappointed by it. Don't forget to leave a review and such. Enjoy!**

* * *

In a small way, it hurt his pride to realize that even after so long, Sasuke could so easily be enraptured by her exquisite eyes...

Shimmering, bright, so clear and crystal blue that he could hardly comprehend the fact that a mere _human_ could be the owner of such wonderful eyes. They captured his soul-they encased him in their aura… he couldn't move, he couldn't think… all Sasuke could do was fantasize about what could have been, what could be, what _will_ be if he got his way.

It took him a while to come to his senses.

With a heavy swallow, Sasuke averted his gaze. He could readily admit (to himself) that if Naruko ever caught him staring at her… well, that was a scenario he would prefer to avoid.

The steady scribble of a pen filled the library. To have to start an entire project over from scratch was an enormous pain-but that was a small price to pay for these few moments with her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Naruko slumped over a textbook, though he could see that her eye was open and focused on the page. Sakura had her nose buried in the book that Sasuke had retrieved for her-features so close to the words that Sasuke was surprised her nose wasn't smeared in ink.

"Ugh…" Naruko groaned, and she raised her head up. Her blonde hair was strangely flattened on one side, while the other side was wiry and disheveled. "Can we like… _talk_ or something?" she said, tone exasperated. "This is so boring. History is… so boring… I swear, it's sucking the life out of me."

Sakura merely tutted, making a note on the notebook in front of her-the page, and several before it, cramped from top to nearly bottom in pristine, miniscule, lime green ink.

Naruko turned to Sasuke, who proceeded to put on his best poker face in the crosshairs of her gaze.

"Come on, Sasuke; you _have_ to be able to talk about something," Naruko insisted. She scooted her chair about a foot closer to him-Sasuke resisted the urge to scoot about a foot back. Or to scoot a foot closer to her. "Like- like your family. Do you want to talk about your family?"

A noise, halfway through a groan and a growl, escaped from Sasuke's throat. Naruko didn't flinch for an instant.

"Do you have any sisters… or brothers?" Naruko asked.

"..."

"I'm not going to give up until you say something you know," Naruko said, a sly grin curling her lips.

Sasuke heaved a great sigh. "I have one brother," he said, not willing to glance up from his notebook.

"Is he older than you or younger than you?" Naruko asked. Her elbows were propped up on the desk, and despite her disheveled appearance, her smile seemed to sweep away whatever boredom there had been in the room before. Now, it was just replaced by a tension that seemed to seep into every pore of Sasuke's body-how lovely.

"... older." Sasuke murmured. "By five years."

"Cool." Naruko said dreamily. "I always wanted to have an older sister, y'know… someone I could look up to… and…" She drifted off, and whatever else she wanted to say remained unsaid. "Just-having an older brother sounds nice."

Sasuke glanced up for a second, before his gaze fell once more. "Sometimes," he conceded.

"Sakura-chan, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Naruko asked.

Sakura gave a little grunt that sounded vaguely like a 'No.'

"Aww… well, maybe you could be _my_ older sister, Sakura-chan!" Naruko said. She grinned in that broad way of hers, the room filled with palpable warmth. "I'd love to have one! Oh, oh! Or you could be _my_ older brother, Sasuke!"

He frowned. "... I'd… rather not." he mumbled.

"That's mean." Naruko huffed. "Why don't you want to be my brother, Sasuke?"

Well, there was a dozen other things he'd rather be, and brother was at the bottom of the list. Boyfriend, lover, husband… he'd even settle for friends with benefits. But brother? Jeez, he'd known that his chances of getting with her were low but he hadn't expected them to be _that_ low. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Still, Sasuke wasn't anything if not persistent.

"My mom… never wanted to have any daughters." Sasuke said.

Naruko blinked.

He blanched slightly, shifting in his chair. His fingers clenched around the pencil in his hand.

"Oh, okay!" Naruko chirped. "I guess I could just be your cousin or something-same difference, right?"

Sasuke blinked at her-if he gripped the pencil any harder, it would snap clean in half at this rate.

"Naruko, you're supposed to be working." Sakura said. Sasuke let out an internal sigh of relief.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, be my nee-chan!" Naruko said. She grasped Sakura's arm, and there seemed to be literal hearts in her eyes. "I can be your imouto, Sakura-chan; I'll be the best one in the whole wide world!"

A moment passed, Sasuke tuning out Sakura's squabbling-but conveniently forgetting to do the same for Naruko. He was shaken-she… she'd asked him to be his _brother_ for kami's sake! What was he supposed to say to that? What on Earth was an appropriate way to respond without unveiling his feelings for her?

…

…

He was so _screwed_ by this point that it wasn't even funny...

Thankfully, Sasuke was saved as the bell that signaled the end of their free period rang.

Sakura and Naruko packed slowly, insults still being shot back and forth between the two-playful ones of course.

"Be my nee-chan, Sakura-chan!"

"No! I am not your sister, and I never will be, Naruko!"

Things of that sort. Of course, they didn't pay a lick of attention to him… which he didn't mind in Sakura's case; in Naruko's case on the other hand… well...

Sasuke couldn't deny that it stung a little-but he wasn't going to complain openly about it. Instead, he gathered his things, sweeping out of the library without another word.

Something caused him to freeze in his tracks, the doors swinging closed with a clunk behind him.

"You have fun in there, Sasuke?" Suigetsu said, and there was a grin that played on his lips-one that made Sasuke scowl.

"Plenty," Sasuke growled. He would have shoved Suigetsu against the wall had both of his hands not been laden with books and papers. "What do you think you saw?"

"Nothing." Suigetsu gave him a toothy smile. "I just poked my head in and saw you sitting at a table with two _extraordinarily_ pretty girls-why, Sasuke, if I didn't know better, I would have assumed that you were trying to sleep with one of them."

He grit his teeth. "I was not trying to… _court_ one of them," Sasuke grumbled, his expression dark like the sky before a thunderstorm.

Suigetsu snickered. "Court?" he said playfully. "I didn't say you were trying to be their boyfriend, Sasuke," he murmured, "I was merely suggesting that you were trying to get into their pants; you were the one who brought an actual relationship into this. I mean… is that what you were _trying_ to do? Is ickle Sasuke finally going to get a girl to hug and cwuddle?"

He frowned. "I.. _no_." Sasuke said forcefully. "I wasn't- screw off, Suigetsu, before I have to send you to the hospital again."

"Again?" Suigetsu said. "That was in junior high, and besides, neither of us knew that the platform was going to give away when you pushed me down!"

"It still counts," Sasuke murmured.

Suigetsu huffed. "Fine, whatever; it's not like you would be able to send me to the hospital again either way. Even if you wanted to."

"Do you want to bet on that?"

"We can go right now if you want, I'll take-!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of blonde in the corner of Sasuke's eye, and his breath left him.

Naruko grinned at him. "See ya later, Sasuke!" she chirped, giving him a mock salute before she took off down the hall. Sakura gave him a polite smile, before following Naruko at a dignified pace. He stared at the blonde's back like an idiot-and by the time he had come to his senses, averting his gaze from her, the damage had been done.

Suigetsu grinned. "You weren't trying to get with one of them, huh?" he said sarcastically.

Sasuke kicked him in the shin. Suigetsu jumped up, clutching his foot as if a bullet had struck it. "Ow, ow! What was that for?" Suigetsu hissed, his face contorted in pain.

His friend smirked. "Being an idiot," he said. "And you didn't see anything-if I hear even a hint that I am potentially 'courting' a woman, I'm going to personally ensure that you yourself can never do the same." Sasuke's gaze drifted downward; Suigetsu blanched.

"P- point taken." Suigetsu muttered, not so subtly cupping his crotch.

Sasuke rubbed his chin. "I'm glad I was able to work that out with you then," he murmured. "Anyways-where is Jugo? He was supposed to be with you."

"His 'guardian' or whatever came and picked him up; he's got to go to the doctor or something," Suigetsu said, shrugging. "I didn't want to stand outside all alone, so I came into the school to see what you were up to."

"Hmm."

Suigetsu cleared his throat. "So… err… do- do you actually like that girl?" he asked. "The new blonde girl I mean. Like-I mean, I don't want to judge you if you _do_ like her, y'know, but it's just kind of weird for someone like you to be crushing on a girl; especially a girl like _that_."

He could feel his temper rise once more; just like it had with his parents and brother. For just one fleeting moment Sasuke was tempted to allow himself to go off, to alleviate some of the stress that had built up over the past few days-but at the last second, he relented.

Sasuke glanced in Suigetsu's direction, eyes narrowed, face cross. "You know," he said, voice low, "I don't think that's any of your business."

Suigetsu clicked his teeth. "Be that way, Sasuke," he said. "It's not going to earn you any brownie points with her, that's for sure."

"Hmph."

His white haired friend rolled his eyes. "No point in being late to our classes," he said. Sasuke shrugged, and they walked off, parting ways and going to their respective homerooms.

* * *

" _Ouch!" she exclaimed, and fell to the ground of the sand box with a cutesy grunt._

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're such a girl," he muttered, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't even push you that hard."_

 _Naruko pursed her lips together. "I am girl, you jerk!" she whined. "Look at what I'm wearing!" She pointed at her attire-an obnoxiously bright, yellow sundress. "Sure, my Mom had to force me into it but I'm still wearing it!"_

" _You can't act like a boy then get mad at me when I treat you like one," Sasuke said. "That's not how that works."_

 _She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll make it work however I want it to!"_ _Naruko declared._

 _Sasuke smirked._

" _What's your name, anyway?"_

" _Naruko," she said. "How about yours, jerkface?"_

" _Sasuke."_

 _Because sometimes, you didn't have to know someone for very long before you developed a routine._

* * *

Some might call it 'stalking' or 'prowling' or 'generally being a nosey piece of crap'. Sasuke liked to call it… investigating; or maybe something along the lines of alleviating his curiosity.

This was the timeline he had: Naruko moved away, her parents got into a car accident, and then she suddenly came back to town devoid of her childhood memories.

But he wanted to know more.

Thankfully, there was this wonderful thing called the 'library' he could use, that had a few computers since his family was too archaic to buy some. He walked down there after school, having managed to find his library card (which was needed to use the computers) somewhere in an old book bag of his.

He signed in; wrote down his name. The librarian asked him: "What is your purpose here today, Uchiha-san?" when he asked to use the computers.

"To do some research for a project I'm working on," was his reply.

It wasn't entirely a falsehood. If you wanted to look at it from a technical point of view, his quest to get Naruko's affection _was_ a project of sort… ignoring the fact that snooping into her life didn't really help with that at all.

He signed into the computer, tilting the screen away from a greasy haired kid that he had sat next to. His fingers flew across the keyboard-he had never been an avid technological enthusiast, but Sasuke knew his way around a computer… mostly.

Sasuke pulled up a search engine. He didn't have to do anything complex: all he did was type in 'Uzumaki, car crash, two dead' and a few news articles appeared before him. He clicked one from the most reputable source off the top of his head.

' _Car accident on roadway; two dead, one rushed to hospital._

 _Last night, one road on the Shuto Expressway was closed down due to a car accident-it appears that a driver under the influence of alcohol crashed into the side of a vehicle containing a family of three. The drunk driver was mildly harmed in the accident. The parents in the struck vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene; their daughter, who's name has not been disclosed, was rushed to the hospital… apparently unconscious.'_

He scrolled down the page.

' _Edit-'_ The date was the day after the original accident. _'We have now confirmed that the two deceased in last night's automobile accident were Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina… the former being a popular candidate for mayor, and the latter his wife. Their daughter has apparently survived the accident, though she has not awoken as of yet, and we have not been informed as to whether her condition has improved or deteriorated.'_

A drunk driver.

Sasuke felt his hand curl into a ball. A drunk driver was all it had taken to _ruin_ Naruko's life… to destroy her… to take away her memories of her parents, of _him_. It was so unfair-but Sasuke had never been deluded into thinking that life was fair. But why could it not give someone as pure as Naruko even a little slack? Why..

He looked over the article again: they had not said the name of the drunk driver anywhere. He went back-he clicked another. The name was not there either. Back… another. Not there. Back, another. Not there.

Then it hit him.

Was he… was he really looking up the name of the man who has destroyed Naruko's life? For what? Was he going to… _hunt_ him down? Kill him? Tell him what he did-as if he wasn't already aware of it? As if he hadn't had to live with it every moment of his life from that day forward?

Sasuke took a few deep breaths.

He stood up from the chair, turning off the computer with a vicious jab at the power button. The librarian smiled at him as he stormed past-he wouldn't have been surprised to look up and literally see a rain cloud swirling above his head.

Sasuke was shocked as he stepped outside and caught a faceful of water, had he really…?

No. It was just raining-he hadn't made a rain cloud appear out of thin air apparently.

And he didn't have an umbrella.

And his phone was dead.

 _And his house was two kilometers away._

Sasuke lowered his head; he turned to the left, starting down the sidewalk… he had a long walk ahead of him, and there appeared no halt to the rain that poured down upon him. Soaking through his clothes, clearing his teeth chattering… even the anger that still swirled in his gut seemed unable to warm him up. He'd catch pneumonia at this rate.

He blinked.

A horn honked beside him.

Sasuke turned.

A window rolled down… and a pair of blue eyes gleamed in his direction. "Oi, Sasuke!" Naruko chirped. "Need a ride?" Beside her, he saw that white haired sitting in the driver's seat.

He stared at her, the rain continuing to pour down on him.

"Kid, get in the car," the man said.

Naruko continued to grin (though it seemed a little shaky) at him-Sasuke suspected that if he even thought about saying no, they would yank him into the car anyway.

He swallowed… and nodded. His movements strangely robotic, Sasuke opened the back door, and slid into the car. He closed the door behind him.

The engine revved gently; they took off down the road without pause… and the rain continued to fall. A clap of thunder rang through the air.

* * *

He couldn't have asked for a more silent car ride.

"Where do you live, kid?" the man asked, one hand on the wheel. His great head of hair seemed to obscure half of Sasuke's vision-but he could see that the rain was intensifying. Thunder boomed every few seconds now… he must have not been able to hear it in the library.

"1314 on Tokugawa Avenue," Sasuke said flatly.

The man pursed his lips together. "That far, huh?" he said. "We might not be able to make it there at this rate."

"It is raining pretty hard," Naruko commented. "Why didn't you bring your umbrella, Sasuke? All the news stations said it was going to start raining after school."

"I suppose I was just preoccupied," Sasuke said. He hadn't even glanced at the television that morning-though his mom might have said something about bringing a jacket… he'd just dismissed that as the usual mother-hen attitude she was prone to.

"You don't mind if we head to our house instead, do you?" the man asked. "It'll be awhile before the rain stops, and I… don't want anything to happen on the way there."

Sasuke suddenly realized that Naruko was gripping the dashboard with both hands-and that her face was as white as ice. And that grin… now that she thought he could not see her… had long since faded; it was only thanks to the reflection in the windshield that he could see the fright in her eyes.

"Sure," Sasuke said automatically. "I mean, I wouldn't mind that; I can… phone my parents and tell them that I'll be home late."

"That should fine then," the man said. "I'm Jiraiya by the way; Naruko's god father and guardian. She said you two were friends at school?"

"We've talked from time to time," Sasuke murmured. "I guess I'm helping her with that project, too."

"Project?" Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow. Naruko did not respond… she was still gripping the dashboard so tightly that her joints might pop… and Jiraiya did not press the issue.

They pulled into Jiraiya's home a few minutes later. Through the rain, Sasuke could see that it would normally look rather nice-a white picket fence, a cozy looking two story house with a porch. The kind of place you would expect a doctor or a businessman to own… not incredibly expensive, but nothing lower class either.

"There's some groceries in the trunk," Jiraiya grunted. "A few perishables. I hate to ask, but can you help us grab a few? The three of us should be able to make it one trip."

Sasuke shrugged.

They exited the car at lightning speeds-the rain was falling faster and faster, harder and harder, and that warmth that he'd managed to cultivate whilst in the car evaporated at a moment's notice. The trunk opened with a soft _pop_ , and Sasuke seized five bags-lugging them toward the front door. Naruko was right behind him, with so many bags holding her down that her arms shook. Jiraiya had gathered the rest, the white haired man clumsily looking for the correct key in a keychain that contained at least two dozen different ones.

He managed to fight the right one, stepping past Sasuke and Naruko to unlock the door and allow them access. They hurried inside, clothes dripping, hair flat… the instant the door was closed, an enormous clap of thunder rang through the air-one that caused the hairs on the back of their neck to stand on end.

"Glad we got in here when we did," Naruko mumbled. Despite her rain-drenched appearance, some of the color had come back to her cheeks… and that customary grin once again stretched her lips. Sasuke felt something in his gut stir, and he quickly averted his gaze.

Jiraiya instructed Sasuke on where to put the bags he had brought in. The inside of the house was beautiful-Sasuke was staggered by the fact that it was so _clean_ ; then, he realized that there had to be a butler… there was a list taped to the refrigerator door of things that were needed. And unless Jiraiya was married to a man named 'Akira', then they had to have some sort of help around the house.

Once the food was put away, Sasuke found himself in the living room, seated on the couch… Naruko on one side of him and Jiraiya on the other.

"So, what's your name? Your full one, I mean," Jiraiya asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered plainly.

"Uchiha? Hmm." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "I remember an Uchiha Fugaku… he was an acquaintance of Minato's at one point, I think. I might have seen him once or twice… there's certainly a resemblance, but he sure wasn't as…" Jiraya's lip quirked upward. " _Handsome_ as you are. Why, if Naruko hadn't been so insistent that you were just friends…"

"Jii-chan…!" Naruko whined.

Jiraiya chuckled good naturedly; Sasuke tried to ignore the stab to his heart, the wounds seeming to do nothing but culminate as the days went on.

"I don't think I've even heard my father mention anyone named Minato," Sasuke said. He kept his tone neutral-though his fingers balled up into fists once more… thankfully unnoticed by either of them. "I could ask him, if it troubles you."

"No, there's no need," Jiraiya said. "I don't see the point in dredging up old business… I'm sure old Fugaku's already forgotten Minato anyways." He sighed. "They were wonderful people, you know; the best this world could ask for. You know what happened, right?"

Sasuke's mouth went dry. "... car accident… right?" he mumbled.

"I told him already, Grandpa," Naruko said.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Of course you did; it's probably the first thing you told him, huh? You can't keep your mouth shut about anything…" He shook his head.

"Nu-uh!" Naruko insisted. "I told him my name first!" A pause. "Then he saw my scar and… well… you know, I couldn't just say I fell or something, right?"

Sasuke's frown grew more pronounced then, if that was even possible. This talk made his skin prickle… he couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. Why were they talking so casually about such a subject?

"Have you seen them before?" Jiraiya asked. "They were beautiful people, I assure you; I keep a photograph around, just so Naruko knows what they look like… even if she can't remember it."

"I haven't seen them," Sasuke murmured. It was true-a nanny had always been there to look over Naruko on the playground. Sasuke had never gone to her house when her parents had been there. It was sheer coincidence more than anything that had stopped him from seeing what they looked like.

But he couldn't deny that he was curious about it.

"Let me show you," Jiraiya said. He stood, leaving the living room for a moment… just a moment, for less than a minute later Jiraiya came back in, photograph in hand. He gave it to Sasuke. "That's Kushina," he said, pointing to the woman on the left. "And that's Minato." The man on the right.

And they were beautiful. Kushina… she looked almost angelic-baby fat on her cheeks, long crimson hair drifting down her back; there was something about her. She looked similar to Naruko, yet starkly different at the same time. As for Minato… well, at first glance they were identical-aside from the obvious gender differences and Naruko's longer hair. But the contrast became clearer, the difference in their cheeks and chins, the fullness of their faces…

It didn't matter though, how similar to each individual parent she looked; it was a puzzle put together in his mind… he could see how one bit of Kushina, and one bit of Minato came together to form the woman that had settled near permanently in his mind.

He stared at the picture for a good minute, maybe two. These people… these _wonderful_ looking people… and all it had taken was too much alcohol to bring their lives to an end. Suddenly, his hatred for that drunk driver seemed to surface once again… stronger than before-he saw red for a moment, but only for a moment. He managed to rein his anger in before anything showed on the outside.

Without a word, Sasuke handed the framed photo back to Jiraiya, who smiled at him. There was a forlorn look on Naruko's face-one that vanished as soon as she noticed that Sasuke had looked in her direction.

Jiraiya sat back down in his spot. "Let's lighten the mood a little," he said, grabbing the remote off of the table. He put something on the television-one of those generic family comedies filled with laugh tracks and 'quirky' characters. Sasuke did not pay a lick of attention to it.

The minutes ticked by. Sasuke used Naruko's phone to explain what had happened to Mikoto-though he 'failed' to tell her that he was at a certain blonde girl's house… instead using vague terms that implied he was at Suigetsu or Jugo's. They watched the show-Sasuke sat in silence, his mind swirling with a thousand questions and no answers.

Soon enough, the rain cleared up. Jiraiya was to drive him home-Naruko waved him off, shouting that she was going to hop in the shower and get started on their dinner while Jiraiya was gone.

Sasuke and Jiraiya did not speak a word to each other in the car. The roads were wet-traffic was near non existent, and the ditches and sewers were overflowing with water…

"Have a good day, kid," Jiraiya told him. He rolled the window up, and drove off.

His house beckoned. Sasuke swallowed-and walked up to the door.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter-almost five thousand words, but not quite. A few things that are obvious, and a few things that aren't so obvious... though they'll come up in later chapters. Jesus... this one was almost a chore to get out, but I hope it didn't show in the material itself.**

 **If you liked it, don't forget to leave a review; I cherish each one, and the longer they are the more they make me happy. If you're a writer and complain about reviews, but don't leave _good_ ones yourself... I don't even know what to say to you, xD. Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always have an awesome day.  
**


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